LIS PENDENS

WHAT IS A LIS PENDENS?

The lis pendens is the first public filing in a foreclosure case. It is a short document that is filed by the attorney for the lender. Under foreclosure law, it is a requirement. It last for three years and in foreclosure actions that take a long time, the lis pendens is frequently extended. Its purpose is to identify the parties to the lawsuit and to create a public record for anyone who searches the property in the County Clerk’s office. The term is essentially translated to mean notice of pendency of an action. In other words, that a lawsuit is pending. The law permits the filing of a lis pendens in non-foreclosure litigation as well, where the action involves a dispute over the real estate. It can be filed by a contractor who has not been paid for his work, with his mechanics lien.. It can be filed for doing quick property taxes or unpaid common charges to a condominium. It can be filed in a partition action or an easement dispute. These are just some examples. If one has been filed against your property wrongfully, you can seek to have it removed or vacated by court order. The filing can interfere with a property owner’s ability to sell the property because a title insurance company will pick it up when they run their title report and it may discourage the title company from issuing insurance at the closing.

If a lis pendens has been filed against your property or you need to file one against someone else’s property, contact us online or call Scott Lanin, Esq. at (212) 764-7250 Ext.201. We offer a free phone consult to review and evaluate your case or you can schedule an office consult.

The business world depends on contracts. Most contracts includes the terms under which a product or service must be delivered and the payment that is due in exchange. When one party fails to fulfill its obligations under a contract the consequences can be severely damaging. When someone sues you for breach of contract, the claim may be unfounded or frivolous, or it may be that the other party was actually the one who breached the contract.

If you’ve suffered a financial loss due to a breach of contract, or if you have been accused of a breach, Lanin Law P.C. can represent you to enforce or defend your contract rights. We have extensive experience litigating and negotiating successful resolutions of contract disputes.

When someone breaches your contract, or claims that you breached their contract, you should immediately speak with an experienced commercial litigation attorney. A commercial litigator will be able to help define what type of damages would be appropriate to seek and what forms of compensation will make the most sense under the circumstances, given your goals and budget.

Damages Available for Breach of Contract:

Specific Performance: The court orders contractual performance to be executed. This remedy is common with transactions involving real estate.

Liquidated Damages: Your contract may spell out what an injured party specifically gets in the event of a breach.

Consequential Damages: Money awarded to compensate the plaintiff for reasonably associated or foreseeable damages, including potentially, lost profits and loss of credit.

Rescission: A remedy in which any money or other valuable consideration given is returned and the parties are no longer obligated to each other under the contract.

Restitution: A return of valuable consideration.

If you have been sued for breach of contract, you may have a defense such as the Statute of Frauds (when a contract must be in a signed writing to be enforceable), the Statute of Limitations (the deadline to sue), or other defenses. You may have counterclaims, where you as the defendant sue the plaintiff for your damages in the same lawsuit. An experienced commercial litigation attorney will review your potential defenses and counterclaims.